Not solely to comic fans, but to the general public. With DC, I don't even think it's debatable, it has to be the Joker. But with Marvel I think it could bring out some good debate. I'll throw out Magneto, Dr. Doom, Doc Oc, Green Goblin and Venom as prime candidates, but who do you think it is?

Yeah, but Magneto was in 3 movies and prime villain in multiple X-Men cartoons and I'm still not sure he's more popular than some Spidey villains. Like I said in my OP, I think it's up for debate and no real right answer.

People know the name "Doctor Doom", but beyond that I suspect his profile these days is pretty limited (and heavily linked to those two lame films).

I'd give it Magneto. He was played by Ian McKellen in three big films, is about to be one of the leads in a fourth, and was a big player in all of the X-Men cartoons, one of which was insanely popular.

It is a shame that Fox retains the licenses to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. I think Dr. Doom could be a terrific villain for other franchises that Marvel Studios does have access to, like Iron Man or the Avengers.

NO one is bigger than the Joker and Lex Luther. BUT in Marvel's case I'd go with Dr Doom, Dr Oct, and Magneto

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Alas, the 90s guaranteed Venom's status as one of the most recognizable villains (even if he wasn't really a villain for a decent chunk of that). That aside, Magneto and Dr. Doom have both been part of Marvel's marketing pushes for years.